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Thursday, September 18, 2008

18 to Drink? College Presidents Stir the Pot

A surprisingly hot topic lately on college campuses, and in the halls of New Jersey’s State House has been the legal drinking age. Recently, a group of college and university presidents have banded together to form the “Amethyst Initiative,” which seeks to discuss the legal drinking age in the U.S. Three college presidents in New Jersey have signed onto the initiative. While the group has been harshly criticized for its subtle advocacy of lowering the drinking age to 18, it continues to foster discussion of alcohol policy on America’s college campuses and beyond.

New Jersey Senate President Dick Codey has been the vocal leader opposed to this movement in the state. He, along with State Senator Shirley Turner, sent letters to all of New Jersey’s institutions of higher education seeking copies of their current alcohol policies. Committee hearings are planned in the fall legislative sessions.

The blogosphere in recent weeks has been on both sides of the issue. Advocates for stricter alcohol policies have been out in full force, but so have others who would like to see a substantive policy debate. The age old argument of “if I’m old enough to die for my country in a war…” has resurfaced in this discussion, for better or worse.